Tips For Traveling With Your Best Friend

The concept of the girls getaway certainly isn't a new one. Nor is the idea of the bro trip. From hotel packages to special vacation deals to themed cruises, there are tons of cool options out there if you want to plan a trip with your best friend. But, whether it's a road trip or a yoga retreat you end up booking, there are some things you'll want to keep in mind when it comes to traveling with your best pal.

Traveling with a best friend is different to traveling with a significant other or small group of strangers. You both know each other intimately in ways no one else will but this doesn't mean you know each others travel style if you've never gone on a trip together.

No matter how strong the bond between two people, travel has the power to test it. Here are some tips you should keep in mind if you want to make sure your friendship isn't going to be at risk.

Talk about travel styles

When you're playing by your ordinary routine, chances are you and all of your friends operate similarly: wake up, go to work, have lunch and maybe go out for drinks in the evening or chill out together on the weekend. But traveling often brings out different styles in people. If you're the type of person who likes to wake up with the sun on vacation in order to pack as much as possible in to a day but your best friend would rather sleep until noon, then you might run into problems.

You can avoid this by talking about your ideal travel days before you leave home. That way, you'll know for sure if your schedules will match up or not and can perhaps agree on some compromises before your different travel styles cause issues.

Agree ahead of time on budget

Any married couple will tell you that money is one of the biggest pressure points in a relationship. I'm not saying that you and your bestie act like a married couple, of course, but when you're traveling together money CAN become an issue.

Talk about some of the major expenses before you leave and how you want to handle them. If you haven't already paid for your accommodation, how will you split the hotel costs? Will you get individual bills at restaurants or take turns paying? If you're renting a car, how will you split the gas costs? How will you handle a situation when one of you wants to splurge on a helicopter ride over the Grand Canyon and the other wants to do something more budget-friendly?

Don't be afraid of alone time

At the end of the day, realize that, no matter how much you love your best friend, you may need some time to yourself when you're traveling. Going on a trip together, especially one that doesn't just include lounging by the pool or being on the beach all day, can induce stressors that you're not used to at home. It's totally fine to do your own thing for a while if you find that you and your friend have conflicting travel styles or different budgets.

You don't HAVE to spend every hour of every day together just because you're on vacation together. In fact, going off and having your own adventure once or twice during your bestie trip may actually help you both enjoy it more.

Have you ever traveled with your best friend? What other tips would you add?

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Note: Available plans and coverages may have changed since this blog was published.